Calvin Le, 7, was taken to Groves Memorial and later airlifted to Toronto Sick Children's Hospital, police said. Anthony Le, 8, was airlifted to McMaster Hospital in Hamilton and is listed in critical condition, police said last night.

"He's doing better," the boys' uncle said of Calvin, as he stood with a group of relatives last night outside Sick Kids. "He's breathing on his own now."

The uncle, who did not want to be identified, said both parents were at the Toronto hospital and were heading to Hamilton late last night.

The parents, who are in their 30s and live on Jane St. in North York, were at the park for a day trip. They have no other children.

It was the second drowning in the area this weekend. On Saturday, a Kitchener man drowned at the Dolime Quarry just outside of Guelph.

In Fergus, about 200 people watched early in the afternoon as Larry was pulled out of the water onto the crowded beach at Belwood Lake Conservation Area, said Keith Whittaker, a 50-year-old Toronto resident who was fishing nearby with his son.

"People were trying to save him, and it didn't look like they were doing so well," Whittaker said, his voice breaking.

It wasn't until someone was attempting to resuscitate Larry that the mother realized she didn't know where her other two children were.

"All of a sudden she cried out that her other two sons were missing," Whittaker said. "It was terrible."

A group of bystanders frantically searched the water for about 10 minutes before someone spotted the other boys under water, said Whittaker's 22-year-old son, Mark.

"It was the worst day of my life ... if only we knew the other two kids were missing when we were all watching to make sure the first boy was living, we might have been able to do more," he said.

The Toronto brothers were found in about a metre of water in an area where beach-goers were swimming just before the first boy was pulled from the water, Keith Whittaker said.

"We were going crazy trying to find them, but the water was so thick ... it almost made it impossible to see anything.

"Finally, somebody bumped into a body."

The older Whittaker said all three boys "looked lifeless."

One portion of the swimming area is fenced off for children — it doesn't get any deeper than about a metre. Keith Whittaker said the bodies were found outside the kids' area, where Grand River Conservation Authority spokesperson Dave Schultz said it gets as deep as 4.5 metres.

Emergency crews, including Wellington County OPP and two helicopter ambulances, arrived at 1:50 p.m. — about 20 minutes after the second and third boys were found, said Const. Jennifer Smith.

"This is an extremely tragic incident, and obviously the boys' mother is upset," Smith said.

Keith Whittaker said waiting for the emergency crews "felt like an eternity. Bystanders said the boys' mother was having trouble communicating with emergency response crews.

"She was screaming for her sons, that's all we know for sure," Whittaker said. "I just wish we could have done more."

Visitors to the spot are confronted by an 2.4 by 2.4 metre sign that reads: "Beach patrol services have been discontinued ... Do not leave children unattended."

The conservation authority's Schultz said the beach patrol was cut in 1996 when funding from the provincial government dwindled.

"They weren't necessarily trained in emergency response, but having another set of eyes sometimes helped," he said. The authority will examine if system changes need to be made, Schulz said.

Extreme weekend heat was also a "likely contributing factor" in the drowning of a Kitchener man on Saturday night, Smith said.

Three men had taken a cab from Kitchener to cool off and take a swim in the quarry, police said. The 28-year-old man, whose name was not released, jumped into the water at the Dolime Quarry at County Road 124 and Kossuth Road.

He came up once, waved his arms, went back under and did not resurface, police said.

One of the man's friends called 911 but emergency personnel were not able to locate the victim.

Terrible story, and I doubt anyone here can guess at how they would react in a similiar situation. The op is obviously a cold hearted bitch who for her own sick reasons wants us to gloat over such a tragedy and condemn a parent for a terrible incident.

Terrible story, and I doubt anyone here can guess at how they would react in a similiar situation. The op is obviously a cold hearted *beep* who for her own sick reasons wants us to gloat over such a tragedy and condemn a parent for a terrible incident.

Joined: 18 Aug 2003Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:32 am Post subject:

The report doesn't indicate whether the kids even knew how to swim. I've seen too many thoughtless parents not give their young children swimming lessons yet feel they are being good to them by taking them to the beach for the day. It happens way too often. It may or may not have happened in this instance. But it's worth emphasizing anyways: Have your kids learn how to swim at an early age. It's a life skill. If you can't swim, consider yourself lucky and fork out a little cash to have them take lessons. Don't wait another year. Of course they may be scared at first. Do it now. You just may be saving their lives later.

Ya-ta Boy wrote:

Is the name to distinguish it from the Toronto Healthy Children's Hospital that is just down the street?

When I lived in T.O. that hospital did a lot of fundraising campaigns, so I presumed the name helped them in their cause. Public healthcare and education have been seriously underfunded in Ontario due to Conservative government slashes in funding over the last decade or more. Anything which generates extra sympathy translates into extra funding through charity.

I didn't post it to start a debate, gloat, condemn or to have people "gang up" on the mother.

Was the thread title a little harsh? Maybe so.

On January 2 2002 at 7:40pm my own child was struck by a car here in Korea. In the emergency room the doctor told my wife and I we should probably plan on a funeral. So yes, I have experienced a little bit of the feeling when you are told your child is going to die. But by the grace of God my child pulled through and spent 10 months and 4 surgeries in the local hospital. My poor wife lived in the hospital room with my child the entire time. After my child was released it was still another 9 months and 1 more surgery before my child recovered - and one of my child's little legs will never be quite right (straight) ever again - my child will never run without a limp. My child will always carry the scars given by an irresponsible parent who couldn't or wouldn't control their own child while operating a car..

The woman that was driving the car was a mother who told the police her own child was crawling around in the car while she was driving and she was playing her child in the car and didn't see my child - on the sidewalk. This responsible parent then told the police it was my daughter's fault for being on the sidewalk, when she lost control while playing grabass with her kid in the front seat, left the roadway, jumped the curb, ran up on the sidewalk and struck my daughter. I was about 10 feet behind my daughter and saw the whole thing.

Did that whole experience make me a little cold hearted? Towards parents who don't monitor/control their children and put them into positions where trajedy can happen? Probably. Can I be "nasty" sometimes? Yes, just like everyone else. Including the person who claimed I was a cold-hearted "beep."

Consider the following from the article:

Quote:

One portion of the swimming area is fenced off for children — it doesn't get any deeper than about a metre. Keith Whittaker said the bodies were found outside the kids' area, where Grand River Conservation Authority spokesperson Dave Schultz said it gets as deep as 4.5 metres.

Maybe the probablity that these precious children were not properly monitored and allowed somehow to be in an area not designated for swimming pissed me off.

Yes, I do feel sorry for the mother. But, honestly, I feel more sorry for the little lives that were lost because of, as described in the article, they were permitted, in some respect by the mother, to be in a dangerous area.

I was lucky and she was not. My heart goes out to her. However, this does not change the fact that this tragedy could have been prevented.